Badass from the Beginning
by VAfanforever
Summary: This is a story about Rose being a badass from the beginning. It follows some of the same parts from the original Vampire Academy, but certain things about the world has changed. Please Read and Review :
1. Chapter 1

Okay so this story is about Rose being a badass from the beginning. There are certain things I didn't like in the book, so you may see some changes. Once I complete this story I am going to re-write it in Dimitri's POV. I really hope you will review, and I prefer constructive criticism. Hope you enjoy(:

**I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES!  
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I felt her fear before I heard her screams.

Lissa was having a nightmare, and it was bleeding into me through the bond we shared. I saw the twisted metal of the car wrapped around a tree, and there was the scent of burning flesh. I knew I had to get myself out of this nightmare, so I could go and wake Lissa up. I started to focus on my own body lying in my own bed, and soon enough I was back in my own body.

I scrambled up from my own bed, and made my way across the room in two long strides. I stood by Lissa and I gently started to shake her awake. Eventually I was her eyes flutter open, and was staring into her beautiful jade green eyes.

I helped her sit up, and moved her platinum blond hair out of her face. I could see silent tears streaming out of her eyes.

"I had that dream again." She said in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

"I know."

"The accident happened forever ago. Why do I still dream about it?"

"I don't know Liss. I don't know," I told her. I knew she hated have these dreams. They always made her think about the crash that killed her parents, and older brother Andre. The crash also killed me, but she used her element spirit to bring me back from the dead. I was now something you called shadow kissed, and I could sense whenever there was a strogoi around. This had come in handy in the past.

Lissa and I had run away from St. Vladimir's Academy when we were fifteen. We had been on the run for two years now. During the first few weeks all we did was party, but after we ran into a strogoi, and almost got killed I started training again. We had barely made it out alive. If it wasn't for Guardian Drake then we probably wouldn't have lived. We were lucky that he didn't follow the system, and he offered to train me. We stayed with him for a year and he put me through the most brutal training I had ever gone through. Now I was a badass, and had killed up to 23 strogoi so far.

I looked Lissa over to see how she was doing, and I noticed that her skin seemed paler than usual. "When did we last do a feeding?" She wouldn't answer me, so I checked the bond, and realized she had gone four days without blood. That was almost unheard of for a moroi.

"It's been four days? Why didn't you tell me?"

"You seemed busy and I didn't want to-"

"Screw that," I said, and I put out my wrist. I hated that she had to feed off of me. It was an excruciating pain that lasted for a few hours. If I wanted she could compel me to forget the pain, but I didn't want to lose myself so I just sucked it up. I saw her lean closer, and I felt my lip tremble in fear. She quickly bit down, and I gave out an ear piercing shriek. I quickly bit my lip to keep from screaming, and I could taste blood from biting so hard.

Soon enough she pulled away, and it was the greatest feeling in the world. The whole thing had taken less than a minute, but it had felt like it took years.

"I'm gonna go you some food, and an Advil." Then I felt the bed shift, and she was gone.

I gently took my wrist in my other hand, and had to blink back tears. I got up and walked over to my side of the room, and grabbed the ice pack that I kept in the little mini freezer for when we did feedings. I made my way to the window to let in some fresh air, and tried taking my mind off the pain. As I looked out I saw the moon high in the sky, and I felt the cool breeze wash into the room. I looked down at the street, and I could almost feel the blood drain from body.

Standing across the street was man, and he was close enough that he could have seen everything we had just done.

I quickly jumped up, and ignoring the searing pain in my wrist grabbed mine and Lissa's wallets, and ran down stairs.

"Lissa we have to go. Now."

"Why do we- Oh no they found us."

"Grab his keys, and hurry up."

Lissa ran over to our roommate, and starred him in the eyes. "What are yo-" his words trailed off as Lissa began to talk in a sickly sweet voice. "You are going to give me your keys." He gave Lissa the keys, and I left the room to get our shoes. When I got back I saw him sleeping on the table.

"Where's his car?"

"2 blocks away on Brown St," she said.

We ran out the door as fast we could. It took everything I had not to collapse on the sidewalk from the burning pain in my wrist. I wasn't sure how many guardians they had, but I was pretty confident I could take them. I was only 17, and I had killed more strogoi then guardians ever seen in their life.

We only had one more block to go when the man I saw standing outside our room stepped in our path. He was tall, really tall. He had brown hair that was tied up in a ponytail at the base of his neck. He had the hottest body I had ever seen. Then next thing I saw was his eyes. They were a deep brown, and I could feel myself getting lost in them.

I skidded to a stop, and pulled Lissa behind my back. The action made my wrist throb with pain from Lissa's bite.

"Stay back." I said in a voice filled with hate. I hated anyone or anything that tried to harm Lissa.

"We aren't going to hurt you. We just want to take you back to the Academy." I could hear a slight Russian accent in his voice, and it sent shivers down my spine.

"What makes you think we want to go back?" As soon as I finished talking he took a step closer. Too close.

I swung my foot out, and aimed the kick right in his chest. My foot made contact, and you could tell he was surprised by how strong it was, and it sent him stumbling a few feet back. The guardians started to take a step forward. I took a defensive stance, and counted how many there were, 12 in total. This would be easy.

Before I could strike the tall Russian was in front of me again. This time he was in a defensive stance just like mine. In my peripheral vision I saw all the other guardians start to relax. They were confident that this guy could beat me, well I was about to prove them wrong.

I sent a kick flying out to his chest again, but this time he knew it was coming, and dodged it. He sent out a kick of his own, and then our deadly dance started. We kept exchanging blows until I saw my opening. I went for a kick in his leg, and right as he was about to block it I sent my fist flying towards his face. It made contact, but he kept his balance. I wasn't able to pull my arm back in time, and he grabbed my wrist.

I let out an ear piercing scream, and dropped to my knees. I saw black dots dance in front of my eyes. My body was numb with pain. I didn't think it could get any worse until he tightened his grip. My body exploded in fire, and I had to hold back tears, and bite my lip from scream again. This was worse than Lissa actually biting me, and all I wanted to do right then was give into the blackness, so this excruciating pain could end. In the background I could faintly hear Lissa screaming. "Let go of her. She's hurt!" I then felt him let go, and I forced myself to my feet. I stood in front of Lissa ready to fight again. I would do anything to protect her, and no matter what these guardians weren't going to touch her.

"No Rose. I won't let you fight anymore. We're going back."

"Lissa I'm fine. I can fight them. Let me protect you."

"Rose you can't fight them all with your wrist in this kind of pain. We are going back." This time she talked through the bond, so only I could hear her. I thought about it for a minute, and was about to fight again when I heard her say, "I want to go back." It was as if a switch had been flipped. I dropped from my stance and you could see all the guardians visibly relax as well.

"Fine. We'll go back."

The tall Russian relaxed to and introduced himself. "My name is Guardian Dimitri Belikov."


	2. Chapter 2

Once we were sitting in the private jet, I let myself relax a little. I knew the guardians weren't going to hurt Lissa, and I knew there were no strogoi inside the plane. I sat back and let myself leave my body, and slipped into Lissa's head. She was sitting in the front next to the Belikov guy. She had a bottle of water in her hand it was shaking like crazy, she was nervous to death. Just then Belikov leaned forward in his seat to grab something, and Lissa saw he had 6 Molnija marks. I focused on my own body, and soon enough I was back in my seat. I sent Lissa calming thoughts. I knew she couldn't hear me, but we learned that if I thought calming thoughts then she could feel them. It worked with any type of emotion. Soon enough I felt her relax.

I though back to the little x shaped tattoos that Dimitri had. He was obviously skilled if he had 6 Molnija. Without thinking I reached behind my hair and rubbed my 23 little marks that were just like his. We had stayed in touch with Guardian Drake, and he had done my tattoos for me. At first I didn't want to get them, but Lissa convinced me that I should. I hated taking someone's life. Even if it was an evil creature trying to hurt Lissa, it was still killing something.

I was staring out the window when I felt the seat next me shift. I already knew who it was, and decided to just ignore him. We sat there in an awkward silence for a little while. Then he decided to break it.

"Were you really going to fight all of us like that?" I didn't answer, and honestly I thought it was the dumbest question in the world. "Doing that was brave. Why did you even try?"

"Because I'm her guardian." We sat there for a little longer, and I couldn't help myself I turned to look at him. Just the little motion made my wrist flare up in pain again. I could feel my face twist into an expression of agony, and had to bite my lip again to keep from screaming. I clutched my wrist to my body, and felt Dimitri get up. When he came back he had a first aid kit.

He tried to take my wrist into his hands, but I pulled it back to me and had to fight the tears that sprang to my eyes from the motion. Dimitri just stared at me then held the little box out for me to take, and do it myself. I rested my arm on the little table, and opened the kit. I had to bite my lip several times to keep from calling out.

"Do you need any help?" I heard Dimitri ask.

"I can do it myself," I snapped back. I hadn't meant to sound so rude, but I was in a lot of pain. Once I was done I gave him back the first aid kit, and turned toward the window. I felt him get up, and I thought he was gone for good. I was a little surprised when he came back and had all his stuff with him. Through the corner of my eyes I saw he had a western novel, and had to fight to keep the smile off my face. I checked on Lissa through the bond and found that she had fallen asleep, and was lying on all the seats. That must have been why Dimitri came back here.

I let my thoughts stray, and was completely caught off guard when I was sucked into Lissa's dream. Or should I say nightmare. I saw the twisted metal of the car, and the smoke rising up into the cloudless night sky. I heard Lissa sobbing and screaming for me to come back. I could smell the burning of metal and flesh, and you could feel the destruction around you. I knew I had to get back into my own body to help Lissa, so I focused on my seat in the plane. Once I was back in my seat I jumped up. Dimitri was startled by my sudden movement, and dropped his book and stood up with me.

"What are you doing?" He asked with a slight hint of worry in his voice.

"Lissa's having a nightmare, and I have to wake her up."

"How do you kn-" I didn't care enough to listen to him anymore, so I pushed him out of my way and ran to the front. Right before I got there Lissa started to scream, and thrash around. I got to her, and started to shake her awake.

"Rose." I heard her whisper as her eyes fluttered open. I could see the fear and loss in her eyes, and the relief they had when she saw I was alive. She started to cry, and I just pulled her to me and sat next to her. I looked around the plane and saw all the guardians staring at us. I was confused at first, but then I remembered that I shouldn't have known what Lissa was dreaming. No one knew we had the bond, and I honestly wanted to keep it that way. That was our most precious secret.

After Lissa calmed down, and fell back asleep, the guardians tried to make me move away from her. They really didn't want me next to her. Not that I could blame them, we had escaped from a high security academy, and stayed off the radar for 2 years. They tried to pull me away, but I stayed where I was. I refused to leave her no matter what.

"Let Rose stay with the Princess." I heard Dimitri say. Everyone turned to look at him. "We're 10 thousand feet in the air. It's not like their gonna escape." The guardians returned to their seats, and I looked back up to Dimitri, and gave him a nod to show I appreciated what he did. He gave me a small smile in return.

We still had a few hours left of the plane ride, and I let my mind drift away. A few hours later I was surprised when I felt someone touch my shoulder. I jerked around and saw that it was Dimitri. "You might want to wake her up. We will be landing in 10 minutes." Just then we heard the intercom go off.

"Ladies and gentlemen please fasten your seatbelts, and prepare to land."

Once we got off the plane we got into one of the academy's black SUVs. There was a long drive back to the academy, and most of it was spent in silence. It was me, Lissa, Dimitri, and a few other guardians in the car. They let me sit next to Lissa in the middle. We had about 30 minutes left till we arrived at the academy when there was a huge explosion, and our car flew off road. The car was doing flips in the air, and crashed roughly into the ground.

I had no idea what happened, but I knew I had to keep Lissa safe. The car was upside down, and I turned to the window and kicked it open. After I got out I helped Lissa out.

"Are you okay?" I asked her as I checked the bond to see if she was hurt.

"I'm fine. What about you?"

"I'm okay." By that time everyone was out of the car and the other two cars had pulled over to see what the hell happened.

"Are you two okay?" I turned to see Dimitri right behind me.

"Yeah we're fine. What the hell happened?"

"I don-" just then I felt a nauseous feeling sweep over me. Before I could react I felt a cold hand wrap around my throat.

"No one more or I'll snap her neck." I heard the strogoi hiss. Everyone froze.

"Get Lissa out of here. Leave me just keep her safe," I screamed at the guardians.

The strogoi took his other hand and put it over my mouth. "I have a feisty one here don't I?"

"Quit playing around Dylan. We have the girl now let's go." In my peripheral vision I saw three more strogoi step out from behind the trees.

"Shut up Melody. Let me have my fun."

I took this as my chance to get away since he was distracted. I bite his hand, and brought my foot back and kicked him in the leg. He let his hand go from around my neck, and I was free. Quicker than anyone could see I had my stake out, and through his chest. I watched the light fade from his, and his body fall to the ground. I pulled my stake out, and looked at the other three. They all wore similar faces of shock. I quickly put my hair up, and heard the guardians behind me gasp as they saw all my marks. I got into a fighting stance, and the strogoi lunged at me. We exchanged a few blows when I saw my first opening, and took it. One down two to go. The other two were a little harder. They were Dhampir before they were turned. I knew I had to end this fight quickly, so we could get Lissa to safety. I started to throw my kicks and punches faster and faster. Soon enough the strogoi didn't know what was going on and they were both dead. I wiped the blood off of my stake in the grass, and turned to see the guardians staring at me like I had three heads. I walked over to Lissa, but winced when I felt a pain in my ribs. I pulled my shirt up, and saw a huge bruise forming. I must have been kicked there, because it looked and felt like they were broken. Lissa ran to me, and put her hand lightly over the bruise. I felt the magic surge in her, and watched the bruise fade away. There were more gasps of shock from the guardians.

Not many people knew about spirit. Lissa and I did a lot of research when we first ran away. That was how we knew as much as we did. We ended up meeting a few spirit users while we were away, but none of them was a strong as Lissa or had a shadow kissed guardian.

I didn't want to keep Lissa out in the open any longer, so I quickly got the guardians into action.

"Come on we have to move. We don't know how many more of them are out there. Let's go." That got them all to move.

We still had two cars left, and the guardians were speeding the entire way back. We didn't want to go through another attack. No one mentioned what happened out there. I think everyone was still surprised that I had defeated four strogoi single handed.

When we got to the academy Dimitri and all the other guardians led us toward Headmistress Kirova's office. They decided to take us through the commons which was totally unfair on their part. There were a million other ways to get there. The worst part of it though was that it was breakfast time, and the commons were filled with students. Right before we walked in Lissa stopped.

"Rose."

"Yeah Liss."

"Your hair is still up. You might want to put it down before we go in."

I quickly put it down. "Thanks." She just gave me a smile in return. I didn't like showing off my marks. It made me feel as if I was just doing it for the glory, and the only reason I got the marks was for Lissa. Everything I did was for Lissa.

When we entered the commons the room fell silent. Everyone was looking at us like we were some kind of alien creature. When we left rumors had spread like wild fire about why. Some people thought I was pregnant, or that I had kidnapped Lissa. Both were completely wrong. I walked into the room with my head held high. Lissa and I used to be the queens of this school, and now that we were back it was time we reclaimed our thrown. Lissa and I walked side by side ahead of the guardians and straight down the middle. We both looked like we were regal.

We finally got into Kirova's office and she told us to sit down. Right away I started to space off as she dove into her lecture about how irresponsible we had been. I could tell though the bond that Lissa was doing the same thing. I looked toward the door and saw that it was Dimitri and Alberta standing in the back. Even they looked bored to death. I was finally snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Kirova turn her attention to me.

"And you young lady are the most irresponsible novice this school has seen. You could have gotten the Princess killed. You failed to do your duty and protect her."

"I did protect her. I kept her safe when none of you could. You don't know what was really happening here. You don't care about any of the students, and Lissa wasn't safe here."

"Ms. Hathaway I fail to see how the Princess wasn't safe in a highly guarded academy. Unless there is something that you are not telling us."

I bit my lip to keep myself from talking. No one could know the real reason we left. So I just sat back down, and waited for her to continue.

"I see. So Ms. Hathaway because the Princess is a royal moroi she must stay here, but you don't have to. You will be sent away as soon as possible."

Just as I was about to speak up, Lissa stood up. "You can't do that."

"I'm sorry princess but I can. Ms. Hathaway failed to protect you, and has broken too many rules. She will leave."

"Rose is my guardian and if you make her leave then I'm leaving too. We broke out of here once and we could do it again."

"Vasilisa you are out of line. Rose is expendable and will be leaving this instant."

"They have a bond." Said a voice with a slight Russian accent. "Rose can feel what the Princess is feeling. Can't you?"

"A bond hasn't been heard of in centauries," said a shocked Kirova.

I just stared at Dimitri trying to tell him to shut up, but he just kept going.

"The stories say that only the best guardians have a bond, and besides Rose has protected the Princess. We haven't told you yet because we though you would want to deal with the girls, but on the way here we got into an accident. While we were pulled over we were attacked by four strogoi, and Rose defeated them all single handed. If you don't believe me you can ask some of the other guardians that were with us. Or you could just look at Rose's neck."

I looked at Kirova and saw she had her mouth open like a fish. She turned to me and made a hand gesture that told me to show her my neck. I sighed and turned around and lifted my hair up. I heard her gasp, and I turned back around.

"Even though she is skilled she still has no discipline. If she doesn't have that then she won't made a good guardian."

"Then teach her discipline. Give her extra training sessions in the morning or night," said Dimitri.

"And who is going to be in charge of mentoring her? You?" There was a slight pause. "That's what I thought."

I looked at Dimitri and I wondered what he saw. Did he see a girl who broke the last Dragomir out of the academy, or a girl who just wanted to protect her sister. "I will mentor Rose." He said at last, looking me directly in the eyes.

Kirova paused for a moment, but eventually said, "Well this certainly changes things. Ms. Hathaway you are lucky to have Guardian Belikov here to speak up for you." She was quiet for a moment, and just stared at her hands. It was almost 10 minutes before she spoke again. "Here's what we are going to do. Both of you can stay." Both Lissa and I looked up and smiled like we won the lottery. "But Ms. Hathaway will have some rules she must follow. You are still in trouble for that stunt you pulled before you left. First off you will have trainings in both the morning and night, and these trainings will be held by Guardian Belikov. Next you are not allowed to go to any social event until further notice. Lastly anytime you are not training or in class you must be in your room. If you fail to follow these rules then you will be expelled from the academy. Do I make myself clear?"

I thought about it for a moment and decided it was the best offer I was gonna get. With I sigh I answered her, "Yes Headmistress."


	3. Chapter 3

Sending us straight to class was beyond mean, but that was exactly what she did. I looked over my new schedule and saw that I had body guard theory with Guardian Stan Alto. I absolutely hated that man before I left, and I had a feeling I was about to hate him even more.

As I walked into class I looked in the back, and saw a few guardians lined up against the back wall. Dimitri being one of them. I sat down just as the bell rang.

"What's this? No one told me we had a guest speaker here today." Said the one and only Stan Alto. I didn't even answer him. All I did was give him my signature Rose Hathaway death glare. "Well what are you doing just sitting there? Come up to the front Ms. Hathaway."

"You can't be serious."

"Oh but you see I am."

I got up and held my head up high as I made my way to the front of the room. I wasn't going to let stan get under my skin.

"So Ms. Hathaway please tell us some of the techniques you used while you were out in the real world."

"My techniques?" I knew I was going to hate this asshole as much as I did before I left.

"Of course. Did you avoid going outside at night?" He looked like he was a kid in the candy store, and had just won the lottery.

"The first few months." That was the plan in the beginning, but after I was trained we didn't need to worry anymore. I knew I would be able to protect Lissa.

"Why not all the time?"

"Because it wasn't necessary." It really wasn't.

"So what you're telling me is that after the first few months you and the last Dragomir just started walking through the streets in the middle of the night. You weren't even fully trained. You could have gotten yourself killed, but more importantly your moroi killed. You have no skill at all, and don't deserve to go here. You got lucky!" By the end of his speech he was screaming. All I wanted to do was kill him. He was making me look like a fool, and that was one thing I did not tolerate. I hated Stan with a burning passion.

In a deadly quite voice I said, "We did not get lucky. You have no idea what we went through. What I have gone through just to protect her. You have no idea." By the time I was done talking I was yelling too.

You could see the burning hatred Stan had for me in his eyes. "If I have no idea what you went through then why don't you tell me?"

"Fine." I just stared at him. I wanted to tell him that I knew what I was doing. That I knew the world sucked, and how easily it is to get caught off guard. How dangerous it really is, and that no amount of training could prepare you for what was really out there. But there was one problem, you can't tell someone that. You have to show them.

I slowly lifted up the side of my shirt. I looked around to see everyone giving me curious looks, but then I moved away my tank top as well. I heard a bunch of gasps from around the room, and all the guardians had similar looks of shock. The first month Lissa and I had left Guardian Drake we had been attacked by six strigoi. I had kept them busy long enough for Lissa to run, and get away, but I hadn't been able to fight them all. I had killed four of them when the other two knocked me out unconscious. They had kept me their hostage for a week. Torturing me. Trying to get me to tell them where Lissa was. They drank from me. Cut me. Burned me. Anything that could be imagined they probably did it to me. The only thing the left me was my physical innocence. I had barely made it out of there alive, and when I got back to where Lissa was I was literally hanging on for dear life. Lissa had offered to heal my scars, and I let her. I only told her to leave one of them alone. It ran all the way from the front of my hip to the back of my shoulder. It was after that day that I knew how the world truly was.

I stared Stan directly in the eyes when I spoke. "Believe me when I say I know how the world really is. I know that you don't get lucky. I know just how dangerous it really is. But you know what? I don't care what has happened to me. All I care about is that Lissa doesn't have a single mark on her. The only scar she has is what she saw. How I looked after I was in a fight. I have killed, and barely made it back alive. I know that if you make one false move or get distracted for just a second, you could be battling for your life." Once I was done talking the bell rang, and I left everyone in a stunned silence.

My next class was Advanced Guardian Combat one of my favorite classes. I made my way to the girls' locker room and changed into my work out clothes. I wore a red tank top with black shorts, and red and black running shoes. What can I say? My favorite colors are red and black.

I walked into the gym and as soon as I stepped in the room went quite. I looked around for a familiar face and saw one of my old best friends Mason Ashford. "Hey Mason you might want to wipe that drool from your face, and think about me naked on your own time."

There were a couple of laughs from people around the room. "It is my time Hathaway. I am running today's session."

"Oh really? Well then I guess it is a good time to think about me naked."

"It's always a good time to think about you naked," said another one of my good friends Eddie.

With that the entire room busted out laughing. Next everyone circled around the mats, and Mason picked two people to spar. The drill was simple. Two people went up against each other and the winner kept fighting until they lost.

"Alright let's see what you've been up to all this time Hathaway. You're up."

My first opponent was a tall well-muscled guy. Not nearly as tall as Dimitri, but way taller than me. We circled each other for a few moments, and finally he decided to strike first. He came at me with a punch aimed to my stomach, but I dodged and sent a kick flying to his stomach. He obviously didn't thing I would have that much strength, and the kick sent him flying onto his back. With speed no one was ready for I was straddling him, and had my hand over his heart. In a clear voice I pronounced him dead.

The next round I faced off with someone that was somewhat short, but had a lot of muscles. He looked like a buff teddy bear that kids would run away from. Just like my last opponent he came at me first. He was running toward me at full speed and right before he hit me I stepped to the side but kept my foot out. He tripped over my foot and was hovering in the air when I brought my elbow down onto his back and he was slammed into the mats face first. I again used my speed and was on top of him with my hand on his heart, and the round was over.

This was how the entire class period went. I would be put up against someone and beat them within five minutes. Finally the bell rang and I went to the locker room and changed back into my regular clothes.

After my next two classes it was time for lunch and I couldn't have been happier. I met up with Lissa in the cafeteria and we were looking around for a place to sit.

"Hey Rose, Lissa over here." We turned to see Mason standing up waving his hands motioning us to go sit with them. At the table was Mason, Eddie, Christian Ozera, this girl Mia Rinaldi, and Adrian Ivaskov.

Once we sat down we all just caught up. They were asking us a bunch of questions about when we were gone, and I let Liss answer them all. That was until a very tricky question came up.

"How did you get blood? You didn't have any feeders so what did you do?"

I felt Lissa stiffen beside me and I spoke up before anyone could notice her reaction. "Lissa had to compel people to do it. It was the only thing we could do, but to make sure they didn't scream she made them think it was the greatest feeling in the world so they didn't feel anything."

No one questioned the lie. They all believed it because they didn't know any better. Lissa shot me a grateful look, and then they all went back to chatting. Finally the bell rang, and we all went our different ways.

The rest of the day went by in a blur, and soon enough it was time for training with Dimitri. I made my way to the gym, and when I got there I saw him sitting in the middle of the mats with a western, and When Doves Cry was playing. I wanted to laugh, but instead I snuck up behind him to try and scare him.

"You're 15 minutes late. Go outside and run 10 laps, and when you get back were gonna spar." He hadn't even turned around! How did he even know I was there? As if he could read my thoughts he said, "The door gave you away." I just grumbled and went outside to do my laps.

When I got back he showed me how to do a few stretches, and then we went on the mat to spar.

"Are there any restrictions?" I asked just in case.

"Don't hit my balls, and I won't hit your chest." I couldn't help but laugh as I gave him a nod to show my understanding.

We circled each other and I decided I would attack first. I went at him with a kick to his legs, but he jumped over it, and sent a punch flying toward my ribs. I dodged and we circled each other again. This time he came at me with a punch going for my jaw. I ducked and sent a punch to his stomach and he stepped out of the way, but he wasn't expecting me to use the momentum from my punch to bring my body around in a twist, and send a kick flying to his hip. My kick made contact and sent him stumbling a few feet. I used this as my chance to get him on the ground. We wrestled on the ground until I was able to get on top of him. Before I could get my hand over his heart he flipped us around. Now I was on the bottom, but shot my leg up kicking him off of me. We both stood up and started circling each other again. The battle went on like this for a while until Dimitri sent a kick for my stomach. I barely had enough time to dodge, and I didn't see the punch coming for my jaw. The hit sent stars flying across my vision, and before I knew it Dimitri was on top with his hand on my heart. Dimitri had won.

I was just staring at Dimitri and I couldn't help but notice how hot he looked with sweat dripping down his face. His brown eyes had such a look of determination, but also a look of wonder. It was then that I noticed the position we were in. We were both sweaty and panting, and he was still straddling me. "So Comrade have any other moves you want to show me?" I gave him my man eater smile, and he just gave me a wink and got off of me. When I got up I could see he was fighting a smile.

I was about to make another comment when I felt the most horrible pain I had ever felt course through my body. I only ever felt like this when Lissa ripped me from my own body and into hers. It was completely different feeling when I went into her head willingly.

I saw her running down the halls of the moroi dorms looking for….me. I tried to bring myself back to my own body, but I felt trapped. I used all of my left over energy to focus on my body. Eventually I felt myself leave Lissa.

I jumped up off the ground and sprinted as fast as I could toward Lissa. I could hear Dimitri trying to catch up with me, and calling to me telling me to slow down. I couldn't. Lissa was in trouble and I had to help her.

Dimitri was still a few paces behind me when I saw a blond figure running toward me with tears streaming down her eyes. This only pushed me harder, and I ran faster. Once I got to her she launched herself into me with tears covering her face.

I stroked her blond hair trying to calm down, while Dimitri looked around for danger. He was standing over us protectively trying to see what caused Lissa's distress.

After a while we got Lissa calmed down enough to get her to talk. She wouldn't say anything. All she did was look at me with such fear in her eyes. Finally she whispered, "He's coming."

I was confused at first but then I understood, and if I was right then we were gonna be in some serious shit. "How do you know?"

She didn't answer. All she did was motion Dimitri and I to follow her. Once we got back to her room she opened the door, and what I saw made me stop dead in my tracks, and my blood turn frozen with fear.

On her bed law a dead fox, but that wasn't the bad part. There was writing on her wall written with the fox's blood. It was the message that scared me.

_No matter how much you run. I'll always find you. –Nathan_

Nathan the strigoi that gave me my scar on the side of stomach. The one that caused the car accident killing Lissa's family, and me. The one that made us leave in the first place. The one that's coming here to St. Vladimir's.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day was hell.

Everywhere I turned all I would hear would be whispers about the fox. The guardians had gotten the message taken off the wall before anyone else had seen it.

The message. I had no idea how Nathan had gotten into the Academy to even write the message. I had a gut feeling that he had someone working on the inside. If he did, well then, the entire Academy just got a whole lot more dangerous.

"Rose!" I turn around to see Victor Dashkov and his daughter Natalie walking slowly up to me.

"Lord Dashkov it's a pleasure to see you again, you too Natalie." I didn't like him. At all. But when Lissa's family died he was there for us, and Liss loved him like family. So when I saw him I always made sure I was super nice.

Looking at Victor I couldn't help, but feel sorry for him. He had gotten this rare disease that was slowly killing him, and I knew Victor would be the type of person to do anything he could to destroy the disease.

"I heard you and Vasilisa were back, and we just had to come and say hello." Natalie had moved to court so that she could help take care of her father.

"Oh well that's very kind of you. When did you guys get here?"

"We landed early yesterday morning. We just thought we would get comfortable and relax yesterday." After that there was an eerily silence then Victor spoke, "So Rose has there been any strange things' going on around here lately? The students seem to be talking about something big." He looked at me with a knowing look. Like he knew the right answer, but he was just testing me.

"Well yesterday someone put a dead fox in-" I wasn't sure if I should tell him it was Lissa's dorm, or just say some random name. But then I figured he would find out soon enough. "-in Lissa's dorm."

Just then I felt a presence behind me, and smelled the most mouth-watering aftershave ever. "Rose you're late for practice."

"Sorry Dimitri. I was just catching up with Lord Dashkov and Natalie." I turned to them, "I'm sorry, but please excuse me. I have to get to training. Hopefully we can catch up more later with Lissa."

"Of course. I will talk to you later Rose."

Dimitri and I headed off to the gym, but the entire way there I couldn't help but think that there was something seriously wrong here. Practice went by in a blur. I was just going through the motions. Finally Dimitri dismissed me, and I went to my room to shower and change before school started.

After I showered I put on a pair of denim skinny jeans that hugged my legs perfectly, and a black shirt with ruffles at the top. I accessorized it with a silver bag, beaded necklace, and I put on a pair of wedges with black straps**. **I blow dried my hair and let it fall in long dark waves, and covered my eyes with a smoky eye shadow. I looked myself over in the mirror, and I had to say I looked pretty damn hot.

I looked at the clock and saw that I still had a little while before classes started. I checked the bond and saw that Lissa was in the cafeteria getting breakfast. I decided to go join her and I made my way there.

When I got there I spotted her right away. She was standing in line waiting to get her food. I walked over to her, and I kept getting cat whistles the entire way.

"Hey Liss. What's up?" I asked. I looked over her outfit and saw that she wore a cute blue dress that looked great on her. She wore a pair of white sandals, a white leather bag, and a cute silver necklace.

"Nothing. Just still a little freaked out by the whole fox thing." I read her emotions and saw that it was mainly the message that scared her.

"Don't worry about it. Ill keep you safe. That's my job."

"Rose what are we going to do? If he really comes then the whole academy is in serious danger." She had a grave look on her face, and I felt her emotions spike. I sent her calming thoughts and she relaxed.

"We'll figure something out. We did in the past, and we'll do it again." I made sure my voice didn't shake. If Nathan came then he would undoubtedly bring an entire army of strigoi with him.

We sat down with our friends, and I just let my mind wander. I tried to find a solution to all my problems. I felt like there were so many things I had to watch out for. The fox and message was the most important thing, but I had no way of finding out. The next was Dimitri. I knew I was starting to have feelings for him, but he was my mentor. My 7 years older than me mentor. Plus he was Lissa's guardian. Even if he wasn't our relationship would be frowned upon, hell I don't even know if thinks of me that way.

Soon the bell rang and I headed off toward Stan's class. Ever since the first day he hadn't made a single comment to me. Well except for the usually 'You're late' but that happened on a regular basis. When I got there, 5 minutes early, I sat down and waited for class. When Stan saw that I was early he just raised an eyebrow at me, but said nothing.

About half way through class a guardian came in and handed a note to Stan.

"Hathaway you are to report to Kirova's office immediately." He looked up at me and gave me the note. "What did you do know?"

"Why do people automatically think that I've done something wrong?" The class was laughing like this was the funniest thing they've ever seen. Which it might have been since my relationship with Stan was okay.

"Because you are Rose Hathaway." He just looked at me and smirked.

I opened my mouth to say something, but then I realized he's right. It's in my nature to cause trouble, and there's only rare occasions that I go up there for something good. So instead I just shrugged my shoulders and said, "True." This caused the class to laugh even more.

As I made my way to her office I thought about what I could have been in trouble for. I had been pretty good lately except for a few things here and there, but nothing that could be blamed on me. I guess I'd just figure out when I get there.

I walked right in without even knocking, and saw Kirova, Alberta, and Dimitri in a heated argument. They all shut up as soon as I walked in.

"Rose please sit down." Said Kirova in a tired voice. I shot Dimitri a look, but he was doing thing whole seeing without seeing thing. So I just took a seat and looked at Kirova expectantly. "Because on your way to the Academy you were attacked and killed four strigoi you need four more molnija marks. We've been discussing if we should have you wait until you get your promise mark, or for you to just get them now." This is what they must have been talking about when I walked in. "We have decided to leave the choice up to you."

I paused for a moment to think about it. I hated getting the marks. It made me feel like I was in it for the glory, but I knew I wasn't, and at the ceremony all the guardians would see how many I have. They knew I killed, but not the exact number. Then I thought about Lissa. She said the marks were part of our world, and they were. They showed you had skill, and could protect someone you love. That you don't hesitate to give your life for someone, and fight for them. If I got my marks then everyone would know I could protect Lissa, but I already know I can. What does it matter what they think? _Because you want them to be proud of you._ My mind said, and it was true. I have gotten so much shit about taking Lissa away, but know ever said 'good job'. They only saw what I did wrong. Not what I did right. "I'd let to get them know please." I finally said.

"Okay. We will get the ceremony organized, and let you know when it is. You are dismissed." She said with a wave of her hand.

I got up to leave, and as I turned I looked first at Alberta and then at Dimitri. Both of them had looks of pride in their eyes. They were happy with my decision.

I didn't feel like going back to class, but I didn't want to stay in my room either. So I decided to go to the gym. I went into the girls' locker room, and changed into the clothes I kept here for training. The first thing I decided to do was go run on the track. I turned my IPod on and started running. I had done about 8 laps when I saw something move in my peripheral vision. I stopped to see what it was. I saw it was Victor and Natalie making their way towards the woods.

I turned off my IPod and made my way toward them. I hopped the shadows were keeping me we well hidden. When we entered the woods I used the trees as cover, and finally they stopped. I crotched down and crawled my way into some bushes so I could hear what they had to say.

"Dad why are we doing this?" I heard the high voice of Natalie.

"Because he told us to that's why." He? He who? "The next one is going to be done sometime next week. We have to make sure she knows it's still alive. We need her to heal it. Then the plan can move forward. Now come on. Let's get back before we rouse any suspicion." I could hear their footsteps crunch on the leaves as they left.

I couldn't believe it. Victor was the one who killed the fox, and put it in Lissa's room. He even had a plan to do it again. But why? Then it clicked. The only person outside the academy who knew Lissa could heal was Nathan. Nathan told Victor if he helped him, he would have Lissa heal him of his disease. But what was the point of the animals? If he knew Lissa could heal then why test her? I stood up from my spot, and made my way back to the school. I knew I couldn't tell anyone that it was Victor. I needed solid proof, and I didn't have that. I looked up at the sky, and figured I still had a few hours till training, so I headed back toward my dorm.

When I got there I started to think of what I was going to do. I couldn't do anything except wait till next week, and try to get proof that it was Victor. I didn't really want to think about this right now, so I jumped on my bed and tried to get some sleep.

I awoke a few hours later to the annoying beep of my alarm clock. I didn't think as I picked it up, and threw it straight out my window. It's a good thing it was open otherwise I would have to have paid for breaking the glass. Then I heard someone scream, and rushed to look out. The clock had landed inches away from Lissa.

"ROSE! WHAT THE HELL?" She had a look of outrage on her face, and I couldn't help but laugh.

I looked at my clock and saw that I was already 15 minutes late for training. "Oh shit!" I rushed around my room trying to get ready as fast as I could. I made it out the door in record time.

When I got there I was 45 minutes late. "I am soo sorry!" I looked around and realized I didn't see Dimitri anywhere. "Dimitri?" I called out expecting to see him turn up out of nowhere. Just then I felt something slam into my back. Or should I say someone. Dimitri had me pinned on the mat face first.

"Never turn your back on your opponent." He whispered in my ear. I shivered from the sound of his voice with the light Russian accent. "By the way that's an extra 5 laps for being so late. I was waiting in that tiny space for 45 minutes wait for you."

"Where the hell were you hiding?" I asked. I looked around the room, and there was nowhere that he could have fit.

I felt the deep rumble of his chest as he laughed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

When I got back from running I saw that he had dummies set up all over the gym. "So comrade what are we doing today?"

"Well we're gonna go over staking." He brought out his stake and threw it in the air, and caught it hilt first then neatly slid it into one of the dummies chests with no trouble at all.

"Hate to break it to you, but I already know how to use a stake." I then brought out my own stake and shoved it into one of the dummies chests. I had a little trouble getting it in, but I still would have killed a strigoi.

"Tuck your elbow in and slid up. It will give you more power, and make it easier to get past the ribs."

I tried it again and had a much easier time getting it to the heart. The rest of practice Dimitri showed me different maneuvers, and I copied him. After an hour and a half we finally started to put the dummies away.

Dimitri turned his back to go get his bag. I remembered his lesson from earlier, and I ran and tackled him to the ground. I could the air rush out of him as he hit the floor. I bent my head down to his ear and whispered, "Never turn your back on the enemy Comrade."

With a speed that matched strigoi he was on top of me pinning me to the mat. It was then that I realized what position we were in. Dimitri was straddling me with my back on the mat. Both of us were breathing heavy and sweating. I looked into his eyes, and saw the look of want and longing. I couldn't take it anymore. I pulled his shirt down to me, and crushed his lips to mine. When they touched it was like a spark had gone off. I could feel electricity flow, and I pulled him closer to me. Soon enough Dimitri started to kiss me back. His hands got tangled in my hair as we fought for dominance. All too soon he pulled away. And gave me a light kiss on my forehead.

Finally he got up and held a hand out to me. I took it and got up. We just stared at each other, but I could read the message loud and clear. That shouldn't have happened. He was my mentor. He was 7 years older than me. But I don't regret it, and neither does he. Quietly he brushes his lips against mine once more. "Roza." Is all he says. Then he turns and walks out the door.

As I go back to my dorm I still feel the heat of his lips on mine. The way we were in sync, and how I felt completely whole. I got into bed and my last conscious thought was that I was in love with Dimitri Belikov. And the thought made me smile.

The next morning I woke up to someone knocking on my door. At first I ignored it because it was supposed to be our day off, but whoever it was just kept banging. Finally I was so pissed I jumped up, and opened the door almost ripping it off the hinges. There stood Alberta fully dressed and awake. She walked right in ignoring my death glare I shot her.

"Glad to see you're awake Rose." I looked around my room and saw that it was actually pretty clean. "I've come to inform you that your ceremony will be at noon. You will have an outfit for you to wear delivered to you in an hour or two. You are not allowed to tell any of your friends except Lissa. Even though you would have told her anyway, but no one is allowed to come. It is strictly guardians only. Please be there an hour before." With that she turned to leave. Just as she got to the door she turned around. "Good job Rose. You kept her safe." The words made me want to cry, but I didn't. I never cry. Alberta left and I looked at the clock and saw that is said 9:30. I texted Lissa and told her to meet me for breakfast. When we were sitting down waiting for everyone else I decided to tell her.

"My ceremony is at noon, but I have to be there at 11. I'm going to get my four Molnija marks." I looked up to see her look of shock. She wasn't sure if I even planned on getting them. "It's strictly guardians only, but do you think after this you could come to my room and help me get ready?" I had felt her mood go down when I said she couldn't come, but it shot right back up.

"Of course I want to help you get ready!" she all but shouted at me.

"Okay. They said there would be an outfit for me to wear in my room. It's probably there now, and by the way no one else is allowed to know that I'm getting my marks today."

"Let's go see it, and don't worry I won't tell anyone."

We made our way to my room, and as soon as we walked in we saw a clothes bag lying on my bed. Lissa rushed over to it and unzipped it. She pulled it out and we both gasped. It was a black satin dress that went to the knees. It was tight at the waist, but otherwise it would flow over my legs. The top part of it was strapless so my back would be completely exposed. It was beautiful.

We grabbed the dress and headed to Lissa's room. She had a bigger room than me since she was moroi, and royal. When we got there she told me to shower. We had an hour till I had to be there. When I got out she motioned me to sit down in front of her vanity. I didn't pay attention to what she was doing but I knew I would look great. Finally she had me get up and slid the dress carefully over my hair.

"Alright you can look now." I could hear a smile in her voice.

I looked into her mirror and gasped at what I saw. The dress fit me perfectly, and Lissa had done a fantastic job. My hair was high on my head pulled into an elegant twist. There were a few strands that hung loose and framed my face. My make-up simple. Black eye liner and black mascara with some Smokey eye shadow, and a light dab of lip gloss. I turned around and gave her a huge hug.

"You better hurry or you're gonna be late. And good job Rose you deserve this." I told her thank you and left to go to the guardian hall.

When I got there I was 30 minutes late. What did you expect I'm Rose Hathaway. I saw Alberta run over to me.

"Your late." She hissed. I just shrugged, and I could see amusement in her eyes.

After a half hour of people running around and doing last minute things guardians finally showed up. They all sat in the audience and had confused looks. They had only been told that they had to dress formal and report here at noon. No one knew what was happening except the guardians that were there, and a few others.

Kirova stepped up to the mic and everyone went quiet. "For those of you who don't know why you're here I would like to inform you that this is a Molnija ceremony. This person has made four kills, and will be receiving her marks. There person receiving their marks today is a student who has broken more rules then anyone in the history of the school. Even though she is a trouble maker and makes us want to rip our hair out." There were a few chuckles from people in the crowd. Everyone knew it was me now, and some teachers had a look of pride on their faces. They were proud that I had protected Lissa. "She is more determined than any other student I have seen. It will be honor to call Rose Hathaway to the stage." The audience broke into applause as I made my way to the chair they had out. There was a tattooist standing beside the chair with a needle. "I would like to say one more thing," Kirova said. This made everyone quiet down again. "These fur kills are not Rose's first ones." There were shocked gasps from many people in the audience. "Over the two years that Rose has been away with the Princess she has killed 23 strigoi," there were more gasps, "adding these four brings Rose's total to 27 strigoi." Then Kirova turned away from the shocked audience, and looked at me. "Rose I don't know why you took the Princess away, but I believe that it is clear to everyone that you have protected her, and kept her safe. Good job." The audience clapped again, and I sat down in the chair. I was used to the buzzing of the needle as it made four tiny X's on my back. He placed a bandage on it, and soon enough I had guardians coming up to me saying words of wisdom.

The first to come up was Alberta. All she did was give me a hug. Next was Dimitri. He didn't say anything, but he didn't need too. We knew each other that well. On and on it went. There were only a few guardians left when Stan came up to me.

"I'm sorry Hathaway. You protected the Princess with your life, and I had no right to treat you the way I did. You are a great guardian." Then he turned and left. I knew Stan hated apologizing as much as I did, and after what he said I had a whole new level of respect for him.

After the ceremony I made my way back to my room. All I could think about was sleep, so I stripped and laid on my bed. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was asleep.


End file.
